Swimming with Whale Sharks in the Maldives | Ethical or Unethical?

My travels took me to Dhigurah, an island that is part of the Alif Dhaal Atoll located in the southern region of the Maldives. Like any other local island, tourists come here for the ocean and Dhigurah hosts some of the world’s best diving sites with an abundance of marine life calling these waters home.

But there is one specific factor that brings people from all over the world here, and that is the presence of the gentle giant of the ocean – the whale shark.

I come here not as the average tourist wanting to get as close as I can to these magnificent creatures, but rather as a curious environmentalist wanting to understand the impact that tourism plays on the whale sharks here in Dhigurah. I’m curious about the whale shark interactions, and what better place to investigate than the most popular whale shark point in the Maldives.

Dhigurah also happens to be a base for the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP), a research-based conservation charity dedicated to studying the whale shark and fostering community-focused conservation initiatives in the Maldives.

Hopefully with their knowledge and the knowledge of the divers here I can gain a better understanding of the protection of the species.

This is not the first time I’ve been curious about ethical animal encounters. In fact, I have a whole section in my blog dedicated to this. My personal opinion is that animals are best viewed in their natural habitat, with the exception that animals in captivity are there purely for rehabilitation or conservation reasons. I’m no expert but as a person who has seen some of the harshest examples of animal exploitation in the tourism industry my opinion is based on fair foundations.

The thing is that here in Dhigurah tourists are offered the opportunity to see the whale sharks in their natural habitat. The issue of concern for me is how many tourists.

After conducting a lot of research I find out that these reefs around Dhigurah are protected. Dive The World states that “The government of the Maldives has created 3 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for whale sharks…The main goal of these whale shark sanctuaries in the Maldives is to create projects through sustainable diving tourism that provide an income for locals with the intention that this will eliminate the need for harmful fishing practices and control human interference.”

The Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP) also endorses these protection grants, but the question remains how well are they enforced by the government?

After speaking with a representative from Maldives Finest he explained how one of the protected areas, Hanifaru Bay, regulates tourism, “In Hanifaru Bay there are many restrictions, for example, resorts are allowed to visit every second day, and the other days are for guesthouses and safari boats. There are also other strict regulations such as a trained tour guide has to be there on board. Diving is also prohibited at Hanifaru Bay. The rangers use drones for monitoring, this is cost effective and easier for operations.”

While I was visiting Dhigurah I got to spend some time with the team from MWSRP and Island Divers to learn more. This particular week had been a quiet one and there had been very few whale shark sightings. After posing the question of over-tourism to both parties they each expressed concerns about the regulation of tourism here.

“While we take measures to ensure the protection of the sharks here through guest briefing and tour regulation we have no control of the tour boats that come from all over. On some days we can see about 100 snorkellers surrounding one shark” – Island Divers

The image below shows just how crowded this site can become. While there is no clear evidence that the creature is disturbed, these images are quite disturbing in themselves and raise huge questions around whether sustainable tourism is, in fact, enforced here.

I decide to head out on the boat to gain some first-hand experience. Island Divers so kindly took me on their dive boat during the morning while one of the trainees was completing her open water diving course. We set out past the reef break and into open water, cruising the coastline about 150 metres away from the shore. It was 9 am and I noticed only a few boats up ahead of us. With the coastline sprawling 4 kilometres, I find the boats to be quite spread out which is a positive sign. But we haven’t spotted a whale shark just yet.

I listen as the boat drivers communicate via the intercom, all hoping to sight the shadow and movement of a whale shark. “Manta!” I hear our spotter yell. We spot a manta ray about 20 metres away, it’s dark, triangular shadow floating at the surface of the ocean. This coastline is also very popular for manta rays who come here to feed on the plankton. Turtles and reef sharks are also a common sighting albeit beneath the ocean’s surface.

We do about 4 laps of the coastline until we stop and I get a chance to snorkel the reefs. While there were no signs of whale sharks the reef was magnificent. Huge schools of fish swam right around me, almost every colour of the rainbow appearing on their scales in some form. About 10 minutes in my guide signals me under the water. We’ve spotted a manta nearby and swim towards it. Before long the creature is within metres of us, gliding gracefully beside us. As mantas are naturally playful creatures they don’t seem to mind that we are there, in fact, there was a moment where I felt like it was showing off in front of us.

As it disappeared into the big blue my guide nudged me again. 2 sea turtles were resting in the coral beneath us. I pondered in awe of what I could see, and was quietly grateful that we hadn’t yet spotted a whale shark so that I could continue to enjoy a peaceful moment with these gorgeous creatures. I knew that if a whale shark came into view the 15 boats that we had passed would be right here surrounding it.

As luck would have it we didn’t see a whale shark today. Historically I might have been disappointed by this and considered myself “unlucky”, but this time I couldn’t help but feel glad. I could only imagine what would have happened should we have seen one, and I can only let you imagine it for yourselves as well.

I’m not writing this article to deter anyone from visiting these islands. In fact, tourism is one of the main sources of income for the people of Dhigurah and the island depends on this income immensely. Community-based tourism is specifically important in this region and only hopes to grow in the near future as more tourists choose to spend time on local islands instead of resorts and immersing themselves in the rich culture of the Maldives. I’m writing this article to help you understand that, without regulation, tourism involving wild animals could be potentially harmful.

So what’s the verdict?

Unfortunately, I can only provide my own opinion and research with regards to whether swimming with whale sharks in Dhigurah is ethical or unethical.

While it’s easy to point fingers at who is responsible to act in this scenario, there is a large onus on us, as tourists, to make responsible decisions.

We can choose to work with tour operators that have sustainability at the forefront. We can even choose to decline the offer to swim with a whale shark and instead enjoy the incredible snorkelling or diving offered in this region. The choice around the impact we wish to make on this planet is entirely ours.

If you have any opinions on the topic mentioned above I would love to hear your thoughts. Have you swum with whale sharks? Was it ethical or unethical? Leave your comments in the section below.

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About Bianca

The Altruistic Traveller

I am a freelance journalist & blogger specialising in stories about responsible tourism, fair trade and community development, with the aim to promote ethical values and give a voice to organisations who are making the world a better place.